Racial Microaggressions in Everyday Life: Implications for Clinical Practice

• Published in: The American psychologist 2007-05, Vol.62 (4), p.271-286
• Main Authors: Sue, Derald Wing, Capodilupo, Christina M, Torino, Gina C, Bucceri, Jennifer M, Holder, Aisha M. B, Nadal, Kevin L, Esquilin, Marta
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aggression; Aggression - psychology; Aggressive Behavior; Biological and medical sciences; Communication style; Consciousness Raising; Continental Population Groups - psychology; Counselor Attitudes; Counselor Client Relationship; Counselor education; Counselors; Cultural Pluralism; Everyday life; Human; Humans; Interpersonal Communication; Medical sciences; Minority Groups; Multiculturalism & pluralism; Prejudice; Psychology, Clinical - methods; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Race relations; Racial and Ethnic Attitudes; Racial and Ethnic Relations; Racial attitudes; Racial Bias; Racial conflict; Racial differences; Racial Factors; Racial Microaggression; Racism; Social Desirability; Social interaction; Social Psychology; Stereotyping; Taxonomies; Taxonomy; Therapeutic Alliance; Therapeutical relation and framework; Treatments; U.S.A; Victimization; Whites
• ISSN: 0003-066X; 1935-990X
• DOI: 10.1037/0003-066X.62.4.271

Racial microaggressions are brief and commonplace daily verbal, behavioral, or environmental indignities, whether intentional or unintentional, that communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative racial slights and insults toward people of color. Perpetrators of microaggressions are often unaware that they engage in such communications when they interact with racial/ethnic minorities. A taxonomy of racial microaggressions in everyday life was created through a review of the social psychological literature on aversive racism, from formulations regarding the manifestation and impact of everyday racism, and from reading numerous personal narratives of counselors (both White and those of color) on their racial/cultural awakening. Microaggressions seem to appear in three forms: microassault, microinsult, and microinvalidation. Almost all interracial encounters are prone to microaggressions; this article uses the White counselor - client of color counseling dyad to illustrate how they impair the development of a therapeutic alliance. Suggestions regarding education and training and research in the helping professions are discussed.